


He's Ours

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [47]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Gen, Prompt Fill, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6422083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LJ Comment Fic for Scary Wednesday prompt: <i>Any, Any Character(s), fear of intimacy</i></p><p>In which John learns that his fear of intimacy has been subverted, when he wasn't paying attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He's Ours

_I know exactly what you’re doing. Kirk._

John didn’t know where Rodney got the idea that he was some kind of intergalactic lothario. Close calls aside, there had just been that one time with Chaya, and that had been more mind-melding than anything else.

Luckily Rodney was the only one who seemed to harbor this idea. John hadn’t had to fend off any unwanted advances from expedition members, for which he was incredibly grateful. He’d learned it was better to keep people at a distance, keep them from getting too close. Love, be it romantic or platonic, left a person open to hurt, disappointment and betrayal.

He knew. He’d been there too many times. And he refused to leave himself that vulnerable again.

*o*o*o*

“Mmm. Perfect.” Rodney made the most pornographic noises when he enjoyed a cup of coffee. It always made John feel a little uncomfortable. And yet he couldn’t help fixing it exactly the way he knew Rodney liked it. “You always know just how I like it.”

John could feel a flush moving up his neck. “I’ll, uh, see you at lunch.”

Radek caught John on his way out of the labs. “Thank you, Colonel. When you make the coffee, there is more work and less shouting.”

“I can hear you,” Rodney said mildly from his workstation. 

“See?” Radek grinned. “Whatever you do, keep doing it.”

John fled before Rodney’s caffeinated pleasure put inappropriate thoughts in his head. Again.

*o*o*o*

“Bring it,” Ronon said.

John danced around him a little more before they grappled, doing his best to stay on his feet. All the training had paid off, because he didn’t immediately hit the mat. Instead he broke Ronon’s hold and used his momentum to spin around him and attack from the rear.

Ronon was a big guy, but John was lithe and had a lower center of gravity. He anticipated Ronon’s next move and tried to knock Ronon’s legs out from under him.

“Nice,” Ronon said right before he tucked and rolled, taking John with him and pinning him to the mat. “You’re getting better.”

John grunted and struggled to get his air back. He didn’t feel like he was getting better. If anything, he felt older. Tussling with Ronon always had that effect on him. 

Ronon sprang back up to his feet and hauled John up after him. “Come on, old man. Let’s go again.”

John would’ve been happy to take a pass, but he knew how much Ronon enjoyed the physical contact, even framed as training. He’d been on his own for a long time, and as much as he disliked talking about his time as a Runner, John knew how it felt to be touch starved. Could imagine what it was like, never being with other people because the very act of knowing him could be a death sentence.

“One more, Chewie. Then you can take me to lunch.”

“Deal.” Ronon dropped into his ready stance, his expression promising long-lasting bruises in John’s future.

*o*o*o*

John exchanged the Athosian greeting with Teyla. He’d come to pick her up from New Athos and bring her back to Atlantis. It was difficult for her, being separated from her people so much. John felt, deep in his core, that Atlantis was where he belonged; it was home. But he knew it wasn’t that way for Teyla, and he was grateful for every day she continued to be on his team.

“John. It is good to see you.”

“You too. How’s everything going here?”

“Very well. The crops are coming up nicely. There should be more than enough food to get everyone through the winter.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” John asked. He wasn’t opposed to a little manual labor, especially for a friend.

Teyla smiled at him. “You are very kind to offer, but that will not be necessary.”

“You know all you have to do is ask.”

“Perhaps we can return during the harvest, and assist when it will be most needed.”

“It’s a date,” John said with a grin. He’d give Teyla anything she wanted, as long as she stayed on his team.

*o*o*o*

“No,” Rodney said. He stepped in front of John and crossed his arms over his chest.

“McKay,” John said warningly. But any further protests he might have had died when Ronon moved next to Rodney.

“Non-negotiable,” Ronon grumbled.

John’s heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. He was the soldier; he was the one who took the risks to keep his people safe, not the other way around. 

“He’s ours,” Rodney said. His voice was firm, despite the tremors shaking his body. He was clearly terrified, but when John tried to pull him out of the way he planted his feet and wouldn’t be moved. “You can’t have him.”

Now John’s heart was pounding for a different reason. Somehow, when he wasn’t looking, he’d left himself open and his teammates breached his defenses. He’d been so afraid of the intimacy, and yet there it was right in front of him. He knew Ronon and Rodney better than he knew anyone, understood them on a level that went beyond simple friendship. 

Rodney was right. John was theirs. And they were his. 

When Teyla and the Marines came in, guns blazing, John stood shoulder to shoulder with his team. He fought beside them, fought _for_ them. And for the first time in a long time, he was ready to let someone fight for him, too.


End file.
